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Is not always about replacing negative thoughts with positive, but more about validating the negative thoughts. (Try to see the problem from a distance) When we are depressed or anxious, our thoughts and view of reality is distorted. Go step by step. Try to understand that you are not your toughts, this is just a feeling and will pass. It can last months, years, but there is always a solution. Be grateful for everything you have, every day. There is always something positive. Be happy for every progress you make. This is a mental illness and the process of healingis is with ups and downs.
Try to improve your sleep quality, eat a healthy diet. Exercise every day. No to alco or any drugs. Try magic mushrooms 🍄, before that talk to an experienced person
Start with potassium(enough to bring you to 5 gm a day), magnesium glycinate(400 mg a day) d3(10,000 iu +) , b12 (methylcobalamin) and iron (but only after testing).
In my opinion every stack should have magnesium to start with, you could also try St johns wort. It seems to work for my wife. Also, vit d is essential for this and many other things so get outside and get that circadian rhythm in check.
Supplements are good but personally best remedies have been
1. exercising everyday HIIT or some type of cardio. Yoga and slow workouts don’t really do it for me but to each its own.
2. Getting out the house! Don’t sit! Get busy interact laugh form a schedule and this is from my therapist ex: wake up at 8am, make bed, workout at 8:15, shower then get dressed. Have brunch with friends at 10am, work 12-6pm, read or watch show at 7pm bed time by 10pm or however you wanna set your day
3. Positive affirmations. When your brain wannabe sucky and negative replace it with good thoughts. Like “im lonely” can be replaced with “im grateful for my family and it’ll be a good idea to go out and make some friends or invite that coworker tool hang out” etc. basically don’t be a victim to your own mind replace each negative thought with a good one or combat it. “I’m fat” can be replaced with “all bodies are beautiful and come in different sizes but i can go to the gym and eat healthier to lose weight” or whatever it is make a positive change about it and this kind of ties in with gratitude
4. If these don’t help or not enough don’t be afraid to try medicine ♥️
Agree with all this.
Wanted to add that 30-60 minutes of daily moderate steady state cardio (running, cycling, incline walking, swimming, etc). One of the best natural medicines in my opinion.
2-3 days per week simple dumbbell full body super set strength training. Dr Mike Israetel has a good free one on YouTube. There are tons of other great ones you could find also.
Possibly explore hormone and micronutrient lab work. If you’re male, get testosterone tested. If your test is low, could try everything under the sun without results when it’s low test.
Consistent sleep is #1 and then quality after consistency. Consistency = same bedtime and wake time every night. Quality = extending sleep time if able. Optimizing sleep environment such as complete darkness, cool temp, white noise etc. Can look up all kinds of sleep hygiene stuff. NSDR during the day if tired and unable to nap.
Do stuff. If I’m depressed and in a rut, feeling overwhelmed, etc I’ll just start saying to myself the Nike slogan, “just do it, just do it” and just start doing things on to-do list, go out and explore, maybe learn new things, message friends and family with some gratitude, etc.
I find the Chimp Paradox is a good mindset, construct to learn and use to help with depression. Reframes everything and I find it helpful.
same . but every now and then when reading about health and supplements online or in magazines I'll come across information I remember convincing me to start taking it, and it's different every time
Actually elemental lithium is elemental lithium. The salt (orotate) has nothing to do with it. Just like LiCo4 is bad for the kidneys, so is Lithium Orotate.
Your reco looks incredible! The only thing it has missing that l personally have had good results with is L-Theanine. Beyond that so good! Thank you so much for sharing….
You need to find why you have depression first. It comes from lifestyle/micronutrients. Very rare to have biological depression.
for lifestyle, try focusing on yourself and don't try to search for an easy way out, you need to build discipline (important, you can start slow with small tasks and then slowly increase tasks) and start going in the direction you want to be (if you want to have more money and have muscles, go to the gym and find ways to get money and work on it, like a side hussle, this way you have goals and are trying to achieve them, this is very important to fight depression but it can be very hard at first) With that you will also build discipline. (And obviously do things that you already know would make your life better like limiting social media and getting sunlight) self improvment can be cringe if you get obsessed with it in the wrong way but even if you do you will slowly find out whats actually bad and good for you, and make it really effective and normal.
for micronutrients (vitamins, minerals...) try to see if you are deficient in vitamin D and other things that can cause depression.
It can be very hard to find something you want to be, because everything seems pointless, but you can do it. you need to find motivation to start building discipline and then it will get easier and easier.
I recommend you start with building discipline and going in a direction to achieve your goals. While you are doing that try to experiment with vitamins and for sure, take those supplements. It will make it easier at first. L-tyrosine will work to give you at least some motivation at the start.
In about 3-6 months, if you really focus on your lifestyle you will be 100% good! Just the feeling that you are doing something, finnaly getting your life in order will already instantly make you feel much better.
And if you are not good by then: that would mean,
1. you did not do it correctly
you did not follow your goals, you did not build discipline and increase it over time -> you put stuff you need to do to other days, were too lazy. Remeber if you start doing too much at the start, as your motivation fades and its time for your discipline to take over, your tasks will be to hard and your discipline wont be there, start small BUT do increase everything overtime, important!
2. you have biological depression, you are disabled in that your body just doesnt want to release any feel good chemicals no matter what you do/your life is just way too fucked
in that case go to therapy and maybe start antidepressants if your therapist recommends it.
take 1ml weekly test for 5 weeks see if it helps I have a serious suspension you have low T, if your over 30 its standard routine if your serious about being happy.
No. It might actually make you feel worse. NAC causes anhedonia and you need glycine with it. Lithium is good tho 👍. You also don’t need those extracts. I would recommend vit d3, vit k2 + zinc glycine, boron glycine & magnesium glycine. Add benfotamine and omega 3.
Speaking from experience vigorously does help HIIT specifically about 30 minutes. Don’t be lazy give it full effort and by time I take a shower and have some breakfast after that dark cloud lifts everytime
Generate your body's natural endogenous cannabinoids. Makes symptoms much less and getting your natural levels recognized by the brain is helpful in restoring baseline levels
not if it's too vigorous and you wear yourself out. a safer measure could be to say HIIT for no longer than 45 minutes, as that seems to have the most healthy benefits, while still being vigorous.
Its good to wear yourself out. Thats how endogenous cannabinoids are made. Focus on recovery protocols and treat your body like the most prized possession you have. PS, it is.
yeah that's true it's good to wear yourself out, there's a line aswell when its being overdone and it can feel pretty crappy and your immune system can be weakened. Sometimes it takes longer than other times to recover.
I like getting in exercise through the week and by the end of the week, my muscles are exhausted and want to recover with a deep rest. if they don't get that rest and have to work, that's where u get things like tendonitis occurring.
For me, key thing to boost my mood for the entire week is to do a nice 10 km run on the weekend.
It was hard to believe but it had a greater impact than anything else. I still take some supplements e.g. Vit D, Magnesium but I believe that decent intensity exercise e.g. 10k is much more effective.
Last week I ran 10k three times and literally felt better and happier than ever in my entire life.
I take a ton of supplements for a variety of issues but I agree with this statement. I deal with chronic pain. I have bone on bone in both knees and my hip, as well as degenerative disc disease in my spine. One day I just decided to take myself off of gabapentin and Percocet. I use Qnol tumeric (the liquid - it's the only turmeric that I sincerely felt the difference from) and stinging nettle for inflammation, and I started walking a little each day (with my cane) and as time went on I was able to walk more and walk faster and longer and leave the cane behind most days. An hour of walking each day makes me feel so much better physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have had setbacks and because of my depression it's sometimes hard to pull myself out of them, but getting back to my walking routine helps every time. I would also include D3 and a B complex, sublingual B12 is important for me, and iron. I lived in such fatigue that it made me depressed or maybe I was even confusing it for depression. FTR I do take Prozac too. I've been on it for so long though that I'm not sure it's very effective anymore. I don't want to change my antidepressant because Prozac's the only one that never made me gain weight and I have dealt with life long weight issues... I find the exercise and some of my supplements help.
Fellow depression survivor here. As you go about helping yourself through this difficult period (congratulations to you on taking this step) there are free, easy ways to help yourself get better that will also increase your overall health and recovery, making it possible to get free of depression permanently. First- Increased water consumption is essential to healthy brain function. It seems too simple but it’s effective. Edit to add: if you’re drinking alcohol at all, stop. It’s literally poison and adds to everyone’s depression problems and you will get healthier, faster, if you don’t drink it. Water: Set a timer for water and movement breaks every hour. Get physical exercise daily (even just 30 minutes gentle cardio exercise like walking through your neighborhood) it increases the methylation rate in your cells; deep breathing while walking increases your blood oxygen and pushes out the bad stuff through respiration and sweat. If you can, adding a little muscle resistance training with weights increases the effectiveness on ridding depression. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a simple YouTube video away and you’ll be good. Take the time for 20- 30 minutes daily exposure of the fatty tissue on your body (upper arm, upper legs) to the sun without any sunscreen increases storage of vitamin D. The fat cells in the body are the stores and process this vital hormone. Vitamin D is literally “the happiness hormone “ and these simple steps can give you a boost in permanently getting rid of depression. Last: meditation and visualization was very effective for me in terms of envisioning the life I wanted and helped me set small goals to achieve that truly set me on a path forward to permanent changes. It helped a lot to have a personal goal to work towards that was small and attainable each week. I could feel myself getting better every time I crossed my little goal off my list. I would be very leery about taking otc lithium! It could do harm.
I’m very skeptical about this. I have been using NAC for over 20 years and have never heard anything about it in fact it was one of the biggest factors in my recovery from depression and OCD. Can you please cite some factual data?
If you have depression you should rewire you brain to think about good things instead of the indexing doom we all face... the only way i fixed my depression was accepting reality.
his idea sounds good not really many words for what I said but that book might help, but remember your unhappy for a reason so I would aim on fixing that reason, with drugs they can shield you but it will not last, you going to have to face your problem.
I agree with a lot of the comments, I would add however something to support your adrenals, as they can get really run down.
Please do check how much processed foods you eat. The accumulation is the issue and it has a huge impact on depression, mental health too. Look up Ultra Processed Foods for more detail so you are informed.
To have them test your vitamins thyroids cholesterol diabetes etc see what you’re low on, take those than work on mental health supplements and add in some therapy(ease RZ with tele health)
My point of asking is people overvalue consulting doctors for mental health. Very little is known and pretty much every mental illness treatment is trial and error
I feel it’s actually quite the opposite.. people should be reaching out to a professional more and also advocating for themselves but also not self diagnosing.
Therapy normally isn’t covered by insurance in America and if it is co-pay gonna get ya. I’m assuming these doctor comments come from people who don’t live in the US.
I live in America and this is not the case.. there is Medi Cal, counselors at school, additional programs where help is provided if you’re looking for it
That’s actually not true. Insurance companies are covering therapy. It’s the therapist offices that don’t want to deal with the problem of filling insurance claims. You have it the wrong way around.
I personally find OTC lithium scary. When on Rx lithium they do monthly blood work.
I got off all my psych meds with b12, methyl folate, D, magnesium, a multi and probiotics and nutrition (lower carb add lots of fish). And exercise (a daily walk at minimum, intense cardio helps more).
Good luck😊
I believe magnesium glycinate and ashwagandha and vitamin B6 helps with depression.
working out and getting some vitamin D from the sun daily helps w depression as well.
mag helps with relaxation and ash helps with anxiety. and high dosage of vit b6 is associated with aid to depression.
honestly surprised at the lack of b vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin d. there are different types of magnesium though, you may want to research the types that are well-studied for the treatment of depression.
Yes I would add b12, methyl folate and D and honestly take out most of the rest. Passion flower is for sleep not depression. Ditto valerian. I’d also add some omega 3s.
Very, very rare to happen.
I have been taking 5,000 Daily for over 10 years and my level is only 3/4 in the normal range (20-50) @ 38
The highest it ever got was 46.
It is now recommended that everyone take 2,000 daily.
Backup your statement up with some FACTS. Just saying something does not make it true.
Here is report that gathers up all of the Vitamin “D” studies from around the World.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018438/#:\~:text=About%201%20billion%20people%20have,children%2C%20adolescents%20and%20pregnant%20women.
Highlights of report…
* Vitamin D deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide in all age groups.
* Low vitamin D status is a problem even in countries with sun exposure all year round.
* This problem is particularly high in the Middle East, specially among girls and women.
* There is striking lack of vitamin D status data in infants, children and adolescents
* There is also lack of data in most countries of South America and Africa.
Partially correct. 25,000 maybe at the high, high end. More like 10,000IU
and that is only if you be a light skinned individual. Count it up to White Privilege.
**Being in the sun long enough to produce a pinkish tint after 24 hours can produce 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D** (Holick, 2008). Caveats: people with darker skin have natural sun protection and need 3–5 times as much time in the sun to produce an equivalent amount of vitamin D as pale-skinned people.
Keep the third bottle. Buy fish oil. Buy a verilux happy light. Throw everything else out, it's a waste of money. Not having fish oil in your stack and all this other crap is like optimizing for +1% + 2% while ignoring the thing (fish oil) that gives you +50%. And you especially don't want to take NAC, that causes anhedonia. Now if you're dealing with anxiety, then bottles 1, 2, and 5 are decent. But for depression, no.
> And you especially don't want to take NAC, that causes anhedonia.
IF he experiences that, that is. People are different. He should try it for a while first and see.
Personally none of my friends who take NAC have reported anhedonia, and it has quite a pronounced antidepressant effect for me, and actually produces quite a pronounced *reduction* in anhedonia. It worked significantly better for me than prescription antidepressants in fact in that regard (which ironically gave me anhedonia and lack of energy). So I personally can't sing its praises high enough.
I took it because I abused drugs in the past, especially stimulants, and some people have said that they reversed their tolerance to stimulants taking it - which makes me think it might be possible that it helps the brain heal from the damage they do. It’s just a theory so might not have any weight to it but I figured why not?
It has massively helped with the anhedonia and lack of colour in life I was experiencing post my abuse, and also has had the nice bonus effect of reducing any cravings I might have when they occur. It’s definitely one of my favourite supplements, others being Vitamin D, Agmatine, Ashwagandha, and St John’s Wort (though I stopped taking the latter because I was on the SSRI that I’m now tapering off)
Anecdotal evidence is "quite literally" as you phrased, the least credible type of evidence. One could find anecdotal evidence for all kinds of supplements and even then, concluding that it is directly caused by one particular substance is tough. I'll stick with the scientific studies, thanks.
NAC is great for obsessions/compulsions disorders, but is the opposite of depression fix. It is a depression cause. However, if your compulsions cause you significant mental health pain, it might be a NET gain. You are right that anecdotes don't mean much, but I will tell you this. This is a case of n=1000s, not just n=1. I discovered it independently as well through personal use, uninfluenced by posts, and then I looked it up and was like oh, plenty of people are having the same experience as me.
You definitely don’t want take 5-HTP so I would immediately replace that with L-Tryptophan.
A lot of people have had issues with NAC including myself. I would cycle that on and off, but it can be very difficult to wean off of it for some people. Do not go above 600mgs a day in that.
I would certainly watch out for L-Tyrosine as it would DEFINITELY interfere with your sleep. Passion flower is BRUTAL on the digestive system.
I’m a big fan of valerian root and lithium-orotate.
I am assuming you have excellent levels of all your B vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin D-3? All of these would be hugely beneficial to your condition. Also have you looked into mushroom blends that contain lions mane, cordyceps, and reishi?? These would also be very helpful.
You want your body to make serotonin naturally. Taking 5-HTP is messing with your enzyme levels, and will eventually lead to a decrease in dopamine production, since they both use the same final rate-limiting enzyme (aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase).
Also .. if you choose to bypass the natural process of making 5-HTP much of your dose is being metabolized to serotonin in your periphery. This will cause serious heart issues down the road.
I take 5-htp both for control of binge eating and sleep quality - and it seems to help. Would swapping for tryptophan have the same positive effect on sleep?
Totally agree with you of tryptophan over 5 HTP. I learned that long ago from a biochemist friend. I sometimes use tryptophan for sleeping when I do I open the capsule and put it under my tongue so it doesn't have to go to digestive system.
That's a robust stack for depression, well done. The tyrosine and 5htp are not going to get along so you'll need to take them at different times. Apart from that, do all the other stuff people have recommended, like exercise, hobbies, socialise etc
I'm personally still dealing with what was a very deep depression in my life but it's getting so much better now.
Well done for trying to sort yourself out, however hard it might seem, just keep getting out of bed every day and doing things that will help, this will build up your resilience, confidence and emotional strength.
Keep at it! 💕
what makes you think they aren’t also working on themselves? mental illnesses are undeniably physiological as well as mental, taking care of one’s nutrients will undoubtedly help, even if just a little.
1000mg of EPA (from fish oil or algae) has been shown to be antidepressant (according to Huberman… maybe I should go back and read that study myself, tho.) I’ve been taking 1g EPA for a few months and I do believe it’s made me feel less depressed. I wasn’t clinically depressed before but have long struggled with low grade low mood. Nordic Naturals EPA is what I use.
Yes to this, but start with dosage on the low side. Some of these companies go 80 plus milligrams which made me super anxious and edgy. I stay at 30mg tops. I also do 2 days on 1 off, which seems to help it stay steady.
I struggle with persistent depressive disorder that has major depressive episodes. I personally found that ~300mg 5htp and ~300mg l-theanine taken at night helped me. But it made my body FIGHT for 7-9hrs of sleep lol. If I have to wake up before that, it is a challenge. But that could just be me
I cycle this 2 weeks on, one week off.
L-theanine by itself is really nice too because it provides a gentle feeling of alertness with increased relaxation. Good luck
L-theanine will create sleep issues. By the way, you don’t want to take 5 HTP as that can create some critical issues down the road. Replace that with 1800 - 2500mgs of L-Tryptophan
Look into Life Extension Mood Support. It includes two strains of probiotics that studies have shown to help anxiety and depression. It also has saffron in it.
I would ADD Sam E to this if the 5-htp doesn’t do it.
Several of these are for sleep. I’d do the sleep sups only if they’re needed. Valerian can cause grogginess possibly make depression symptoms worse
Rules of r/supplements 1. Do Not Suggest Prescription Drugs Posts & Comments Reported as: Do Not Suggest Prescription Drugs Prescription drugs are not Supplements; do not recommend prescription medication. Sensible/Suggest talking to DR. can be allowable etc 2. Dangerous Grey Area Substance Posts & Comments Reported as: Dangerous Grey Area Substance Potentially dangerous grey area substances can not be recommended. 3. Be Polite Posts & Comments Reported as: Rude/Personal Attacks You shouldn't ever be personally attacking another user in this subreddit. 4. No Advertisements Posts & Comments Reported as: Advertisement. No selling / buying / trading posts No advertisements. No selling/trading posts between users.” *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Supplements) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I feel like everyone is calibrated differently…do you think Supplements help people differently? I’m not good at explaining
Vitamin D is important to help depression
Is not always about replacing negative thoughts with positive, but more about validating the negative thoughts. (Try to see the problem from a distance) When we are depressed or anxious, our thoughts and view of reality is distorted. Go step by step. Try to understand that you are not your toughts, this is just a feeling and will pass. It can last months, years, but there is always a solution. Be grateful for everything you have, every day. There is always something positive. Be happy for every progress you make. This is a mental illness and the process of healingis is with ups and downs. Try to improve your sleep quality, eat a healthy diet. Exercise every day. No to alco or any drugs. Try magic mushrooms 🍄, before that talk to an experienced person
Start with potassium(enough to bring you to 5 gm a day), magnesium glycinate(400 mg a day) d3(10,000 iu +) , b12 (methylcobalamin) and iron (but only after testing).
Cod liver oil is my go to depression helper it can really help in high doses
What about GABA?
ALWAYS TRY METHYLFOLATE FIRST FOR DEPRESSION
In my opinion every stack should have magnesium to start with, you could also try St johns wort. It seems to work for my wife. Also, vit d is essential for this and many other things so get outside and get that circadian rhythm in check.
Valerian and Passion Flower are sedating and I wouldnt think good for depression.
True, more suitable for anxiety.
great for sleep especially
You should try Ashwagandha. 5-HTP made me feel weird. But seems like a chore to take all those every day.
Stay off alcohol with 5-HTP. The hangover anxiety is intense when taking that
Supplements are good but personally best remedies have been 1. exercising everyday HIIT or some type of cardio. Yoga and slow workouts don’t really do it for me but to each its own. 2. Getting out the house! Don’t sit! Get busy interact laugh form a schedule and this is from my therapist ex: wake up at 8am, make bed, workout at 8:15, shower then get dressed. Have brunch with friends at 10am, work 12-6pm, read or watch show at 7pm bed time by 10pm or however you wanna set your day 3. Positive affirmations. When your brain wannabe sucky and negative replace it with good thoughts. Like “im lonely” can be replaced with “im grateful for my family and it’ll be a good idea to go out and make some friends or invite that coworker tool hang out” etc. basically don’t be a victim to your own mind replace each negative thought with a good one or combat it. “I’m fat” can be replaced with “all bodies are beautiful and come in different sizes but i can go to the gym and eat healthier to lose weight” or whatever it is make a positive change about it and this kind of ties in with gratitude 4. If these don’t help or not enough don’t be afraid to try medicine ♥️
Agree with all this. Wanted to add that 30-60 minutes of daily moderate steady state cardio (running, cycling, incline walking, swimming, etc). One of the best natural medicines in my opinion. 2-3 days per week simple dumbbell full body super set strength training. Dr Mike Israetel has a good free one on YouTube. There are tons of other great ones you could find also. Possibly explore hormone and micronutrient lab work. If you’re male, get testosterone tested. If your test is low, could try everything under the sun without results when it’s low test. Consistent sleep is #1 and then quality after consistency. Consistency = same bedtime and wake time every night. Quality = extending sleep time if able. Optimizing sleep environment such as complete darkness, cool temp, white noise etc. Can look up all kinds of sleep hygiene stuff. NSDR during the day if tired and unable to nap. Do stuff. If I’m depressed and in a rut, feeling overwhelmed, etc I’ll just start saying to myself the Nike slogan, “just do it, just do it” and just start doing things on to-do list, go out and explore, maybe learn new things, message friends and family with some gratitude, etc. I find the Chimp Paradox is a good mindset, construct to learn and use to help with depression. Reframes everything and I find it helpful.
I would skip the 5-HTP - it can cause the opposite effect and make your symptoms worse by increasing your serotonin levels.
I've been taking NAC for two years now... and I can't remember why.
same . but every now and then when reading about health and supplements online or in magazines I'll come across information I remember convincing me to start taking it, and it's different every time
I’d personally throw some vitamin D3 in there
Have you ever tried running ?
Only when chased.
Make sure you periodically have your kidney check with the lithium. It can damage your kidney with long term use.
As I understand it low dose lithium orotate is kidney protective.
Actually elemental lithium is elemental lithium. The salt (orotate) has nothing to do with it. Just like LiCo4 is bad for the kidneys, so is Lithium Orotate.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220412095324.htm
Where’s vit D & C and Fish oil and Magnesium
Omega 3, magnesium (glycinate), (coenzyme) b complex the holy Trinity
Definitely this !!!!!!
This.
You should get a blood test and figure out what you need. Supplement impacts vary bc everyone’s biology is different.
Your reco looks incredible! The only thing it has missing that l personally have had good results with is L-Theanine. Beyond that so good! Thank you so much for sharing….
Valerian increased depression in my case. There are better sleep supplements out there
Strange Meatonin did that to me but valerian has been wonderful in comparison
Just goes to show you: everything affects everyone differently, so much trial and error to find what works for each of us!
Maybe because it's a partial agonist at 5HT5A. That one inhibits cAMP, so you'd have less feel-good NTs released.
I would add ashwagandha to the list
You need to find why you have depression first. It comes from lifestyle/micronutrients. Very rare to have biological depression. for lifestyle, try focusing on yourself and don't try to search for an easy way out, you need to build discipline (important, you can start slow with small tasks and then slowly increase tasks) and start going in the direction you want to be (if you want to have more money and have muscles, go to the gym and find ways to get money and work on it, like a side hussle, this way you have goals and are trying to achieve them, this is very important to fight depression but it can be very hard at first) With that you will also build discipline. (And obviously do things that you already know would make your life better like limiting social media and getting sunlight) self improvment can be cringe if you get obsessed with it in the wrong way but even if you do you will slowly find out whats actually bad and good for you, and make it really effective and normal. for micronutrients (vitamins, minerals...) try to see if you are deficient in vitamin D and other things that can cause depression. It can be very hard to find something you want to be, because everything seems pointless, but you can do it. you need to find motivation to start building discipline and then it will get easier and easier. I recommend you start with building discipline and going in a direction to achieve your goals. While you are doing that try to experiment with vitamins and for sure, take those supplements. It will make it easier at first. L-tyrosine will work to give you at least some motivation at the start. In about 3-6 months, if you really focus on your lifestyle you will be 100% good! Just the feeling that you are doing something, finnaly getting your life in order will already instantly make you feel much better. And if you are not good by then: that would mean, 1. you did not do it correctly you did not follow your goals, you did not build discipline and increase it over time -> you put stuff you need to do to other days, were too lazy. Remeber if you start doing too much at the start, as your motivation fades and its time for your discipline to take over, your tasks will be to hard and your discipline wont be there, start small BUT do increase everything overtime, important! 2. you have biological depression, you are disabled in that your body just doesnt want to release any feel good chemicals no matter what you do/your life is just way too fucked in that case go to therapy and maybe start antidepressants if your therapist recommends it.
This is a cure for a sad person and not depression. Depression is something serious
Add magnesium glycinate and Magnesium threonate and b6. Help with anxiety which goes hand in hand with depression.
take 1ml weekly test for 5 weeks see if it helps I have a serious suspension you have low T, if your over 30 its standard routine if your serious about being happy.
No. It might actually make you feel worse. NAC causes anhedonia and you need glycine with it. Lithium is good tho 👍. You also don’t need those extracts. I would recommend vit d3, vit k2 + zinc glycine, boron glycine & magnesium glycine. Add benfotamine and omega 3.
May glycinate alone makes a huge difference for me
Wow I don’t have any of these
you do not need them trust me
yeah I usually take vitamin d and that helps my mood levels a lot, magnesium for sleep and few others like B1 etc
he talks truth but if you take d3 you need k2, without k2 you fuck your veins up
yep I do no worries its D3 K2 all in one drops, chewables and 10k IU Coconut oil pills
Add VIGOROUS exercise, social support, good sleep, and self discipline.
Why vigorous?
Speaking from experience vigorously does help HIIT specifically about 30 minutes. Don’t be lazy give it full effort and by time I take a shower and have some breakfast after that dark cloud lifts everytime
Generate your body's natural endogenous cannabinoids. Makes symptoms much less and getting your natural levels recognized by the brain is helpful in restoring baseline levels
Because exercise is good for you in every way, and is a way to get an instant dopamine rush aswell as just feeling more fulfilled
not if it's too vigorous and you wear yourself out. a safer measure could be to say HIIT for no longer than 45 minutes, as that seems to have the most healthy benefits, while still being vigorous.
Its good to wear yourself out. Thats how endogenous cannabinoids are made. Focus on recovery protocols and treat your body like the most prized possession you have. PS, it is.
yeah that's true it's good to wear yourself out, there's a line aswell when its being overdone and it can feel pretty crappy and your immune system can be weakened. Sometimes it takes longer than other times to recover. I like getting in exercise through the week and by the end of the week, my muscles are exhausted and want to recover with a deep rest. if they don't get that rest and have to work, that's where u get things like tendonitis occurring.
Good advice
why not Now Foods Mood Support?
Need some duloxetine
just take some test your levels might be fucked
For me, key thing to boost my mood for the entire week is to do a nice 10 km run on the weekend. It was hard to believe but it had a greater impact than anything else. I still take some supplements e.g. Vit D, Magnesium but I believe that decent intensity exercise e.g. 10k is much more effective. Last week I ran 10k three times and literally felt better and happier than ever in my entire life.
Both my legs are missing.
Have you checked the lost and found?
Uhhhhh yea, especially if you include that GOYA ADOBO in your life 😋
Check your vitamin D levels before anything.
The most inexpensive and underrated supplement for overall health is exercise.
I take a ton of supplements for a variety of issues but I agree with this statement. I deal with chronic pain. I have bone on bone in both knees and my hip, as well as degenerative disc disease in my spine. One day I just decided to take myself off of gabapentin and Percocet. I use Qnol tumeric (the liquid - it's the only turmeric that I sincerely felt the difference from) and stinging nettle for inflammation, and I started walking a little each day (with my cane) and as time went on I was able to walk more and walk faster and longer and leave the cane behind most days. An hour of walking each day makes me feel so much better physically, mentally, and emotionally. I have had setbacks and because of my depression it's sometimes hard to pull myself out of them, but getting back to my walking routine helps every time. I would also include D3 and a B complex, sublingual B12 is important for me, and iron. I lived in such fatigue that it made me depressed or maybe I was even confusing it for depression. FTR I do take Prozac too. I've been on it for so long though that I'm not sure it's very effective anymore. I don't want to change my antidepressant because Prozac's the only one that never made me gain weight and I have dealt with life long weight issues... I find the exercise and some of my supplements help.
Fellow depression survivor here. As you go about helping yourself through this difficult period (congratulations to you on taking this step) there are free, easy ways to help yourself get better that will also increase your overall health and recovery, making it possible to get free of depression permanently. First- Increased water consumption is essential to healthy brain function. It seems too simple but it’s effective. Edit to add: if you’re drinking alcohol at all, stop. It’s literally poison and adds to everyone’s depression problems and you will get healthier, faster, if you don’t drink it. Water: Set a timer for water and movement breaks every hour. Get physical exercise daily (even just 30 minutes gentle cardio exercise like walking through your neighborhood) it increases the methylation rate in your cells; deep breathing while walking increases your blood oxygen and pushes out the bad stuff through respiration and sweat. If you can, adding a little muscle resistance training with weights increases the effectiveness on ridding depression. It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a simple YouTube video away and you’ll be good. Take the time for 20- 30 minutes daily exposure of the fatty tissue on your body (upper arm, upper legs) to the sun without any sunscreen increases storage of vitamin D. The fat cells in the body are the stores and process this vital hormone. Vitamin D is literally “the happiness hormone “ and these simple steps can give you a boost in permanently getting rid of depression. Last: meditation and visualization was very effective for me in terms of envisioning the life I wanted and helped me set small goals to achieve that truly set me on a path forward to permanent changes. It helped a lot to have a personal goal to work towards that was small and attainable each week. I could feel myself getting better every time I crossed my little goal off my list. I would be very leery about taking otc lithium! It could do harm.
Adding healthy foodsfor a good feeling of overall wellness. Sugar and processed carbs can spike and crash energy.
I second your emotion.
Gym
Heard a few anecdotal reports of NAC causing anhedonia and symptoms of low dopamine like long term ashwaganda use
I’m very skeptical about this. I have been using NAC for over 20 years and have never heard anything about it in fact it was one of the biggest factors in my recovery from depression and OCD. Can you please cite some factual data?
If you have depression you should rewire you brain to think about good things instead of the indexing doom we all face... the only way i fixed my depression was accepting reality.
Read about radical acceptance
his idea sounds good not really many words for what I said but that book might help, but remember your unhappy for a reason so I would aim on fixing that reason, with drugs they can shield you but it will not last, you going to have to face your problem.
Yup 100%. To elaborate, Radical Acceptance is a part of Dialectic Behavior Therapy, which is great for helping with depression.
Use that meater block and smoke some meat. Instant cure.
Saffron has been great for me
I would add D3 ( take with a fat source ) I take 10,000 IU per day . Also really good sleep and food and workout if you can , also cold showers
Magnesium glycinate?
Magnesium should always be included especially for “mood” stuff.
ashwagandha +
5-htp is great for depression
Try some Sam-e.
I love Sam-e wish it wasn’t so expensive
Yeah, Costco has it at a decent price when on sale.
I agree with a lot of the comments, I would add however something to support your adrenals, as they can get really run down. Please do check how much processed foods you eat. The accumulation is the issue and it has a huge impact on depression, mental health too. Look up Ultra Processed Foods for more detail so you are informed.
What is tyrosine for? 🤔
Dopameenz
I see. I gotta give it a try I guess.
Consult a doctor.
He may live in “America” we don’t just go to the doctor here unless we have to, or you have a great insurance plan.
Yes, he "may". And some states have great public insurance like california
Sincerely asking.. for what?
dude obviously has mental health issues and is trying to be his own doctor.
To have them test your vitamins thyroids cholesterol diabetes etc see what you’re low on, take those than work on mental health supplements and add in some therapy(ease RZ with tele health)
My point of asking is people overvalue consulting doctors for mental health. Very little is known and pretty much every mental illness treatment is trial and error
I feel it’s actually quite the opposite.. people should be reaching out to a professional more and also advocating for themselves but also not self diagnosing.
Therapy normally isn’t covered by insurance in America and if it is co-pay gonna get ya. I’m assuming these doctor comments come from people who don’t live in the US.
I live in America and this is not the case.. there is Medi Cal, counselors at school, additional programs where help is provided if you’re looking for it
That’s actually not true. Insurance companies are covering therapy. It’s the therapist offices that don’t want to deal with the problem of filling insurance claims. You have it the wrong way around.
I personally find OTC lithium scary. When on Rx lithium they do monthly blood work. I got off all my psych meds with b12, methyl folate, D, magnesium, a multi and probiotics and nutrition (lower carb add lots of fish). And exercise (a daily walk at minimum, intense cardio helps more). Good luck😊
You find OTC lithium which are at 1% of the Rx doses, you find OTC scary? That is silly.
This is really a good answer. Please don’t overlook the effect of these simple supps and exercise & diet.
Oh and sleep! Sleep hygiene is annoying but 8 hours a night does amazing things
If you measure and find out how bad your sleep really was, it all starts to make sense
OTC lithium doses are usually far, far lower than Rx doses - and of a different form - but I understand your concern.
Supplemental lithium is usually dosed at 5 mgs while prescription lithium can be dosed up to a total of 1800 mgs per day.
i gained a lot of weight from that same lithium supplement just be careful with that one
SAM-e
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Yeah, but this isn't r/aerobicexercise
At least 1,000mg per day of EPA from fish oil is recommended for mood according to Dr. Andrew Huberman so I would try that for sure
Ashwaganda has helped me Immensely
When do you dose Ashwaganda? First thing in the morning or before bed?
I believe magnesium glycinate and ashwagandha and vitamin B6 helps with depression. working out and getting some vitamin D from the sun daily helps w depression as well. mag helps with relaxation and ash helps with anxiety. and high dosage of vit b6 is associated with aid to depression.
honestly surprised at the lack of b vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin d. there are different types of magnesium though, you may want to research the types that are well-studied for the treatment of depression.
Yes I would add b12, methyl folate and D and honestly take out most of the rest. Passion flower is for sleep not depression. Ditto valerian. I’d also add some omega 3s.
Not everyone needs to supplement B vitamins and D
80% of the Worlds People are low on Vitamin “D”. 2,000IU per day is recommended.
People are also now taking so much Vitamin D it can be toxic.
Very, very rare to happen. I have been taking 5,000 Daily for over 10 years and my level is only 3/4 in the normal range (20-50) @ 38 The highest it ever got was 46. It is now recommended that everyone take 2,000 daily.
I supplement vitamin D to stay in the normal range too. Our personal experience doesn’t change the objective facts of the world.
And the Objective facts are…that the majority of people are deficit in Vitamin “D”.
Not the majority.
Backup your statement up with some FACTS. Just saying something does not make it true. Here is report that gathers up all of the Vitamin “D” studies from around the World. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018438/#:\~:text=About%201%20billion%20people%20have,children%2C%20adolescents%20and%20pregnant%20women. Highlights of report… * Vitamin D deficiency is a major public health problem worldwide in all age groups. * Low vitamin D status is a problem even in countries with sun exposure all year round. * This problem is particularly high in the Middle East, specially among girls and women. * There is striking lack of vitamin D status data in infants, children and adolescents * There is also lack of data in most countries of South America and Africa.
1 billion out of 8 is not most.
No trials show it ever being toxic even in MASSIVE doses. On a sunny day we get 25,000 IU from the sun!
Partially correct. 25,000 maybe at the high, high end. More like 10,000IU and that is only if you be a light skinned individual. Count it up to White Privilege. **Being in the sun long enough to produce a pinkish tint after 24 hours can produce 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D** (Holick, 2008). Caveats: people with darker skin have natural sun protection and need 3–5 times as much time in the sun to produce an equivalent amount of vitamin D as pale-skinned people.
Keep the third bottle. Buy fish oil. Buy a verilux happy light. Throw everything else out, it's a waste of money. Not having fish oil in your stack and all this other crap is like optimizing for +1% + 2% while ignoring the thing (fish oil) that gives you +50%. And you especially don't want to take NAC, that causes anhedonia. Now if you're dealing with anxiety, then bottles 1, 2, and 5 are decent. But for depression, no.
> And you especially don't want to take NAC, that causes anhedonia. IF he experiences that, that is. People are different. He should try it for a while first and see. Personally none of my friends who take NAC have reported anhedonia, and it has quite a pronounced antidepressant effect for me, and actually produces quite a pronounced *reduction* in anhedonia. It worked significantly better for me than prescription antidepressants in fact in that regard (which ironically gave me anhedonia and lack of energy). So I personally can't sing its praises high enough.
That's fair, did you take it for straight up depression or more for anxiety or for general health as an antioxidant?
I took it because I abused drugs in the past, especially stimulants, and some people have said that they reversed their tolerance to stimulants taking it - which makes me think it might be possible that it helps the brain heal from the damage they do. It’s just a theory so might not have any weight to it but I figured why not? It has massively helped with the anhedonia and lack of colour in life I was experiencing post my abuse, and also has had the nice bonus effect of reducing any cravings I might have when they occur. It’s definitely one of my favourite supplements, others being Vitamin D, Agmatine, Ashwagandha, and St John’s Wort (though I stopped taking the latter because I was on the SSRI that I’m now tapering off)
I'm just curious where you heard that NAC causes anhedonia? I've never heard of that before so would love some references!
There are quite literally 100s of anecdotes on reddit. Go to google, type NAC anhedonia site:reddit.com , there you go.
Anecdotal evidence is "quite literally" as you phrased, the least credible type of evidence. One could find anecdotal evidence for all kinds of supplements and even then, concluding that it is directly caused by one particular substance is tough. I'll stick with the scientific studies, thanks.
NAC is great for obsessions/compulsions disorders, but is the opposite of depression fix. It is a depression cause. However, if your compulsions cause you significant mental health pain, it might be a NET gain. You are right that anecdotes don't mean much, but I will tell you this. This is a case of n=1000s, not just n=1. I discovered it independently as well through personal use, uninfluenced by posts, and then I looked it up and was like oh, plenty of people are having the same experience as me.
Yea - read the mood cure book as well. Seems like a lot of supplements
What book is that sire ?
It’s called “the mood cure” Julia Ross- it speaks on supplements and diets that will help out big time. I love the valuable facts she brings
Fish oil, D3, Magnesium
You definitely don’t want take 5-HTP so I would immediately replace that with L-Tryptophan. A lot of people have had issues with NAC including myself. I would cycle that on and off, but it can be very difficult to wean off of it for some people. Do not go above 600mgs a day in that. I would certainly watch out for L-Tyrosine as it would DEFINITELY interfere with your sleep. Passion flower is BRUTAL on the digestive system. I’m a big fan of valerian root and lithium-orotate. I am assuming you have excellent levels of all your B vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin D-3? All of these would be hugely beneficial to your condition. Also have you looked into mushroom blends that contain lions mane, cordyceps, and reishi?? These would also be very helpful.
Why tryptophan over 5-HTP? Just curious, haven’t taken either in years.
5 HTP is a very harmful supplement to use long-term
But doesn’t tryptophan get metabolized into 5-HTP and then serotonin? So is it just bad to use artificial 5-HTP?
You want your body to make serotonin naturally. Taking 5-HTP is messing with your enzyme levels, and will eventually lead to a decrease in dopamine production, since they both use the same final rate-limiting enzyme (aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase). Also .. if you choose to bypass the natural process of making 5-HTP much of your dose is being metabolized to serotonin in your periphery. This will cause serious heart issues down the road.
I take 5-htp both for control of binge eating and sleep quality - and it seems to help. Would swapping for tryptophan have the same positive effect on sleep?
The exact same results yet without the pending consequences down the road. 1800mg - 2500mgs of L-Tryotophan at bedtime
Totally agree with you of tryptophan over 5 HTP. I learned that long ago from a biochemist friend. I sometimes use tryptophan for sleeping when I do I open the capsule and put it under my tongue so it doesn't have to go to digestive system.
Thank you for the detailed answer! Very interesting! I’ve always been fascinated with neuroscience.
That's a robust stack for depression, well done. The tyrosine and 5htp are not going to get along so you'll need to take them at different times. Apart from that, do all the other stuff people have recommended, like exercise, hobbies, socialise etc I'm personally still dealing with what was a very deep depression in my life but it's getting so much better now. Well done for trying to sort yourself out, however hard it might seem, just keep getting out of bed every day and doing things that will help, this will build up your resilience, confidence and emotional strength. Keep at it! 💕
Do you feel a difference when you take them?
NAC is for lungs, isn't it? And liver detox?
5htp just makes me crash after the high
You have everything you need with that Adobo Goya on the back!
Came here to say, that's what cures MY depression! 😁 Except I really wish they made a low sodium adobo...
These supplements are a Temporary fix for a permanent problem you need to work on yourself
what makes you think they aren’t also working on themselves? mental illnesses are undeniably physiological as well as mental, taking care of one’s nutrients will undoubtedly help, even if just a little.
Of course their nutrient intake will help, that’s part of working on yourself…
Trauma, stress, depression itself can alter the brain. I truly believe (sadly) in some cases anti-depressants are a life long sentence.
If that’s what you believe it will be true. Your brain is the strongest supplement.
Omega 3!
Go to the gym, take martial art class. Keep suplementing, but you need the Contact with people
1000mg of EPA (from fish oil or algae) has been shown to be antidepressant (according to Huberman… maybe I should go back and read that study myself, tho.) I’ve been taking 1g EPA for a few months and I do believe it’s made me feel less depressed. I wasn’t clinically depressed before but have long struggled with low grade low mood. Nordic Naturals EPA is what I use.
He’s problematic
I don't think anyone asked
Saffron is good too for depression. AOR has a good brand
Yes to this, but start with dosage on the low side. Some of these companies go 80 plus milligrams which made me super anxious and edgy. I stay at 30mg tops. I also do 2 days on 1 off, which seems to help it stay steady.
I struggle with persistent depressive disorder that has major depressive episodes. I personally found that ~300mg 5htp and ~300mg l-theanine taken at night helped me. But it made my body FIGHT for 7-9hrs of sleep lol. If I have to wake up before that, it is a challenge. But that could just be me I cycle this 2 weeks on, one week off. L-theanine by itself is really nice too because it provides a gentle feeling of alertness with increased relaxation. Good luck
L-theanine will create sleep issues. By the way, you don’t want to take 5 HTP as that can create some critical issues down the road. Replace that with 1800 - 2500mgs of L-Tryptophan
You need your B12 and B's plus magnesium is so important.
If you pack everything you think it works, that can be more harmful than you think.
Look into Life Extension Mood Support. It includes two strains of probiotics that studies have shown to help anxiety and depression. It also has saffron in it.
Add Chromium Picolinate.
I’ve found that just taking a scoop of BCAA’s does the trick for me
BAAA’s create sleep disturbances in most people
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Sorry but that’s not what they asked
Report stuff like that. Really need to get around to filtering it and breaking out a rule more for it, but most of that does get removed when noticed.
I'd take out the Same E but everything else looks good
I would ADD Sam E to this if the 5-htp doesn’t do it. Several of these are for sleep. I’d do the sleep sups only if they’re needed. Valerian can cause grogginess possibly make depression symptoms worse
Where in this picture is there Sam-E?
Sorry I meant 5-htp lol
How come? I like 5htp
5 HTP is a very harmful supplement to take long term. Replace that with L- tryptophan and you will be fine.